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EPW MORE ABOUT PUBLIC WORKS THIS WEEK: ‘Twas a day of ups and downs for the relationship of EPW Chairwoman Barbara Boxer and ranking member David Vitter. On one hand, progress continued on the Water Resources Development Act as four more amendments were accepted. On the other, Vitter and his colleagues on EPW staged a boycott of a committee vote on EPA nominee Gina McCarthy.

Frenemies: The Boxer-Vitter feud over McCarthy hasn’t yet spilled over into work on WRDA, but it could have implications down the road as the committee eyes a major surface transportation bill next year. The fight “could spell bad news for the cordial majority/minority relationship that EPW has had in recent years on transportation issues,” said one transportation official. “Vitter will need to be careful about how far he takes this and what the long-term implications may be for his ability to work well with the chairman.” But another source wasn’t so worried, saying that “it’s purely politics. And I think Boxer knows this. … I don’t think there’s any personal animosity between Vitter and Boxer.” And in the House, neither T&I Chairman Bill Shuster nor ranking member Nick Rahall appeared fazed by the upper chamber dust-up. Shuster said people in Congress are “big boys and girls, and it’s all business. And then the next day you’ll be on the same side.” To Rahall, cooperation between Vitter and Boxer one moment and vehement disagreement the next is actually a sign of bipartisanship. “We can work together and disagree on issues,” Rahall told MT. “That’s what we need to do more of around here.” Darren and Burgess for Pros: http://politico.pro/12jyY6n

May I see your manager? Tom Udall is trying to smooth over relations between the White House and the Senate, but said Thursday he was having a hard time getting in touch with Boxer. He came to the floor to offer two amendments that he said deals directly with the White House’s frosty SAP — but there was no floor manager. “I came down to see her and I didn’t see her. So I’m hunting for her,” Udall said. “The leadership had said: ‘We want to move this bill, come down and get your amendments in.’ So I came down to my amendments in only to find that there was nobody to deal with.” One of Udall’s amendments (http://politico.pro/13kJuN3) would prevent the streamlining provisions from kicking in until the Army Corps of Engineers’ project backlog came down to $20 billion and the other (http://politico.pro/10JjbuH) would turn the study and project acceleration provisions in the bill into five-year pilot programs. Burgess for Pros: http://politico.pro/11od9Hc

Future forecast: Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on Thursday evening but said a vote might not be necessary if senators reach an amendment deal before Tuesday at noon, when the vote is scheduled. Lawmakers will work through the long weekend and “significant progress” was made Thursday, Reid said.

Thursday’s WRDA floor action: Here’s the amendments that were tacked onto the bill by UC: Roy Blunt on construction standards, Tom Coburn on defunding old project authorizations, Jeff Sessions on the Tennessee Valley Authority and a technical correction amendment by Mark Warner dealing with Mile Run in Alexandria and Arlington, Va.

Something to watch: Senior T&I members Rahall and Don Young introduced a bill to spend $13.8 billion over five years for state revolving funds to improve water quality. The issue has traditionally been separate from WRDA, an aide tells us — but the Senate’s water bill includes WIFIA authority that also applies to wastewater infrastructure, so there’s a chance the two matters could be combined down the road. Here’s a summary of the Rahall-Young bill: http://politico.pro/12gZ5vW

FOXX ON THE HILL: Charlotte Mayor and potential DOT secretary Anthony Foxx was on the Hill yesterday, making the rounds to meet with Commerce Committee members, including Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller and Sens. Maria Cantwell and Claire McCaskill. The West Virginian said the meeting was “just wonderful” and that Foxx “ought to be easy” to confirm. Rockefeller also noted that the vetting “may be moving more quickly than expected.” He didn’t clarify a timeline for a hearing beyond his earlier comments of aiming for the end of May. A McCaskill spokesman called the meeting “productive” and said the two talked about the senator’s push to loosen restrictions on portable electronic devices on planes — a topic that is “sure” to come up during the confirmation hearing, the spox said. Other panel members, like Brian Schatz and John Thune, said they hope to meet with him next week. And Mark Begich wasn't sure when they would meet but indicated it's a bit of a formality. “I know him,” Begich said. “He's a good guy.”

Photographic evidence: McCaskill’s office helpfully divulges this photo of their meeting, which appears quite relaxed, at least for this moment. http://bit.ly/13GI5jd

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PAY YOUR RENT: A handful of senators, including Boxer, have dropped a bill to ensure that rental car companies don’t rent out recalled cars. All the major companies — Hertz, Enterprise, Avis Budget, Dollar Thrifty and National — have signed off on the measure. But it hasn’t gone anywhere in Congress in past years, though things are looking better this time around — McCaskill, one of the bill’s sponsors, will hold a Commerce subcommittee hearing on the bill. Rep. Lois Capps is working with the senators and plans to introduce a House companion bill. Text: http://politico.pro/17P6N2u

StAAAtement of support: “As an advocate for the safety and security of all motorists, AAA supports this bill and looks forward to working with Senators Schumer, Boxer and other Congressional leaders to pass it,” said Kathleen Bower, AAA’s vice president of public affairs.

MAILBAG — PORTS queries: PORTS caucus co-chairs Janice Hahn and Ted Poe want specifics from Jo-Ellen Darcy, the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, on how bringing Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund spending in line with revenues would affect the economy. Currently the fund takes in hundreds of millions more dollars than it expends each year. In a letter to Darcy, the two asked “How many jobs would be created by the full utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund?” and “Assuming full utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund each year, how long would it take the Army Corps of Engineers to bring all ports and harbors to their authorized dimensions?” Read it: http://politico.pro/10l6N43

THE WEEKEND ON METRO: Metro trains won’t face too many disruptions this weekend — there’s only one track closure, on the Orange Line between Vienna and Ballston. There’s single-tracking on the Red Line, between Grosvenor and Twinbrook and between Rhode Island Avenue and Takoma, and on the Blue and Yellow lines, between Braddock Road and Pentagon City. On Saturday, the system opens at 5 a.m. for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. WMATA has the deets on the weekend track work (http://bit.ly/ZRAXAi) and the early opening (http://bit.ly/174d2BK).

MT POLL — Future of transportation: Break out your crystal ball — what’s the future of transportation? Better roads and self-driving cars, high-speed rail, more mass transit or maybe even personal jetpacks? Take a guess about the future — just do it before Sunday at noon: http://bit.ly/18AAF13

FLYING HIGH: Mike Pompeo introduced a bipartisan bill intended to head off a decline in pilots, flights and general aviation sales. Pompeo also sent a dear colleague (http://politico.pro/195a64g) letter to round up support — which includes the aviation industry. The bill: http://politico.pro/YxtIMQ

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- No one’s quite sure when the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge span will open. TN: http://wny.cc/176ddMT

THE COUNTDOWN: DOT funding and passenger rail policy both run out in 144 days. Surface transportation policy is up in 512 days and FAA policy in 874 days. The mid-term elections are in 543 days.

CABOOSE — Train-ing day: Tomorrow is National Train Day (with a “trains matter” theme), and since you hopefully won’t be working you can check out one of the many events around the country. Amtrak has celebrations in 200 places in all 50 states; the big ones are in D.C., Philly, Chicago and Los Angeles. And it’s not just passenger rail getting in on the fun — Norfolk Southern has an updated version of the Schoolhouse Rock classic “Conjunction Junction” that focuses on freight movement. Give it a look: http://bit.ly/ZRASg8 And for old time’s sake, here’s the original Conjunction Junction: http://bit.ly/11mQHhO

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